


Insufferable

by wolfzaa



Series: Barlyle Prompts & Ficlets [3]
Category: The Greatest Showman (2017)
Genre: Again, Canon Divergence, Ficlet, Fluff, M/M, Phillip in Denial, Post-Canon, Tumblr Prompt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-22
Updated: 2018-01-22
Packaged: 2019-03-08 01:04:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 423
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13447239
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wolfzaa/pseuds/wolfzaa
Summary: Phillip hated to admit that nobody could ever say no to P.T.  He hated thathecouldn’t say no to P.T.People said he was charming.  Phillip said insufferable.(A Tumblr prompt: "The Ladies love a guy who’s good with kids.")





	Insufferable

**Author's Note:**

> **Reminder:** Every Barlyle fic I write will be a canon divergence where Charity has already passed away because I love her too much to let P.T. cheat on her.
> 
> Another prompt from [this prompts list](http://wholegrainrolls.tumblr.com/post/169596549973/100-prompts).  
> (It's supposed to be an old-fashioned-100-word drabble but it's getting longer and longer whelp)
> 
>  **Prompt:** 20\. The Ladies love a guy who’s good with kids.

 

Phillip didn’t want to admit it – he really didn’t – but he couldn’t deny that P.T. was a charming man.  The ringmaster could charm his way into Buckingham Palace (well, he _did_ , with a lot of help from Phillip) and demand everything and anything from there (he did that too.  He got Jenny Lind.  Luckily, the man’s ego had deflated a lot after she quitted.)  Still, Phillip found it hard to admit the fact that P.T. was… well, a _natural_.

It wasn’t jealousy.  No.  Not in the slightest.

Phillip just hated to admit that nobody could ever say no to P.T.  He hated that _he_ couldn’t say no to P.T.

Yes, that must be it.

They said he was charming.  Phillip said insufferable.

“Daddy, are you sure about… um… _this_?”

“Of course, sweetheart.  Why not?”

Caroline bit her bottom lip, glancing down at her new dress. “I don’t think this color suits me.  Are you sure I don’t look funny?”

“Shh… It’s alright.  You look amazing.  Anne helped me pick out this dress herself; you trust her sense of fashion, don’t you?  You have nothing to worry about.”

Caroline’s eyes lit up as a smile broke across her face.  They were at an uptown party Barnum was invited to as one successful businessman.  Some still looked at him funny, some with judging eyes, while some – the group of ladies on Phillip’s left, to be specific – _giggled._

Oh, he was _perfectly_ aware what those giggles meant, thank you very much.  It was less annoying when he was the one at the receiving end, not the one observing it.

Phillip suppressed an irritated groan.  P.T. noticed his scowling face, took a glance at the ladies, and grinned at him.

“Don’t be like that.”

Phillip sipped his champagne. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“What can I say?  The Ladies love a guy who’s good with kids.”

“Yes, yes, I know that.”

“You love it.”

"Yes, I d— Wait, what?” Phillip almost choked on his champagne and glared at the older man. “Stop grinning.  I didn’t say that.”

“Uh-hm.”

“I said stop.”

P.T. shot him a dazzling smile. “Okay.”

He even had the nerve to _wink_ , for God’s sake, which enticed the ladies to start another round of giggling; one of them was blushing hard as though it was meant for her.  Phillip cursed under his breath, grabbed Helen’s hand, and simply walked away.

And now Helen _was_ giggling.  Phillip didn’t even try to stop a groan this time.

 


End file.
